Tue, August 28, 2001 Herbal 'silverbullet'
For Surapong Suebwonglee, the mention of white kwao krua (Pueraria mirifica) conjures up images of magic potions and miracle cures for both Alzheimer's disease and breast cancer.
The Deputy Public Health Minister is one of the prime movers behind the Ministry's decision yesterday to set up a national committee to push for development of herbs on an industrial scale.
Kruawal Samana, an adviser to the public health minister, chairs a committee drawn from representatives of the Medical Science Department, the Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine and the National Cancer Institute, as well as Yutthana Samitsiri from Mae Fah Luang University and Dr Wichai Cherdchiwasart from Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Sciences.
Surapong said there were limitations to white kwao krua use in the country because the herb had been registered as a drug and in some parts of the country was are registered as a food supplement.
He said he had learnt that kwao krua could be used as a supplemental hormone for menopausal women, could enhance breasts, and could even create new brain cells to treat Alzheimer's disease.
He said research done at King Mongkut Hospital had also found that the herbs could be useful in preventing breast cancer.
B O O M A N D B U S TA jungle root that grows in the north of Thailand is believed to enlarge the breasts of women who take it. Firms from Japan, Germany and the United States have been conducting research into the pueraria mirifica root, a source in Thailand's Agriculture Department told the Bangkok Post.
It has been used by Thai women for decades, Wichai Cherdshewasart of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok told Reuters.
"It shows an oestrogenic effect. It can enlarge breasts and hips. It will vary from woman to woman. If a woman's breasts are large already, the effect will be greater."
But the plant is already being exported to Japan, and the newspaper fears that foreigners might grow it overseas and claim patent rights for themselves. Allowing this to happen would be an enormous boob, if you'll pardon the phrase
Source : BangkokPost Newspaper
New Laws to protect Thai herbs sought by Japan
Two herbs believed to have a high hormone content and which are much sought after by Japan, will become protected species, according to a regulation proposed on Tuesday.
A committee on plant variety under the Agriculture Ministry agreed to propose the regulation for Minister Pongpol Adireksarn's approval in order to protect kwaao khrua and thong khrua from extinction as a result of over-exporting and smuggling.
The two herbs are believed to have medicinal properties to improve energy, complexion, sexual drive and are also used in cosmetics including those claiming to enlarge women's bustline.
Backing its proposal, the panel said kwaao khrua (Pueraria candollei) and thong khrua (Butea superba) could become extinct in five years as huge demand from Japan had led to the herbs in natural forests being over-harvested.
The herbs are endemic species found in forests in the North, Northeast and Central Plains.
Mr.Apichai Karoonyavanich, deputy permanent secretary for agriculture who heads the panel, said the regulation should be promulgated not later than next month.
"After the regulation takes effect, export of fresh kwaao khrua will be prohibited," he said.
But villagers would be allowed to pick the herb for personal use, he said.
However, it is doubtful the regulation would be effective against kwaao khrua exports since the herb is normally exported in dried, processed or capsule form. Also, sales are usually made through cross-border smuggling rather than normal channels.
But Dr.Wichai Cherdchewasart, a Chulalongkorn University lecturer who has been pushing for official protection of these species, believes the regulation would be a positive first step.
Dr. Wichai expected the committee to ask the Forestry Department to list the herbs as "rare forest species". The listing means department permission will be required before any collection of the plants from any forests can be done. Also, export of the plants in any form will be prohibited.
"Both legal mechanisms would make it harder to harvest the herbs from forests," he said.
Dr. Wichai predicted that once the regulation was in place, the market prices of these herbs would rise and lead to more commercial farming.
Source: BangkokPost Newspaper Mar 18, 1999
Viagra Alternative
Dr. Wichai Cherdshewasart, an associate professor with Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Science, announced recently that he had developed an herbal alternative to Viagra from a local plant called red kwaao khruea (pueraria mirifica).
The professor has also developed a cream from white kwaao khruea that he claims enlarges breasts. He claimed he has tested his Viagra alternative on 100 Thai men and said that he has applied for approval from the Food and Drug Administration to market the drug.
The drug is already widely available on the black market and sells for a considerably cheaper price than Viagra.
Breast Enlargement The Thai Herb Way
In Thailand they have an herbal plant that is supposed to help in growing your breasts, and they are afraid it may fall into foreign hands.
The Pueraria mirifica root has been popular with Thai women for decades. The plant is supposed to have an estrogenic effect and can enlarge the breasts and hips of women. How much depends from woman to woman, they claim. And, of course, several Japanese firms are interested.
The Japanese have moved in, and the Germans and even US firms are going after the plant. Thailand's government is considering a ban on the plant's export to prevent piracy to foreign countries.
Indeed, if it is estrogenic, the herb isn't going to be useful because you can't just give people estrogens in high enough doses to increase their breasts. It's not that simple.
Source The Bangkok Post Oct. 19 1998
Experts want new bill passed soon: Concern over piracy by foreign companies
At a recent meeting on the matter, Dr Wichai Cherdshewasart of Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Science urged the Food and Drug Administration to immediately approve the registration of two drugs made of white kwao kreu (Pueraria mirifica) and red kwao kreu (Butea superba).
White kwao kreu hit the news headlines last year when doctors identified that it enlarged the breasts of a monk who regularly consumed the herb. White kwao kreu is believed to contain the female hormone oestrogen while the red kwaao khruea is believed to stimulate the male hormone.
The prompt registration of the herb was urged by the Chulalongkorn University researcher, for fear that the patenting would be taken advantage of by foreigners who would then export the finished product made from Thai herbs for sales in Thailand at a much higher price.
Associate Prof. Yuthana Samitasiri of Nakhon Ratchasima's Suranari Technology University said some 40 tons of kwaao khruea is trucked from the Northern provinces of Thailand to south China and Japan every month.
"In many villages of Phayao and Chiang Mai, villagers are informed to dig-up for kwaao khruea for sale to the Japanese by the village main loudspeakers," he said.
Most of the kwaao khruea processed by the Japanese are made into medicines and cosmetics commonly used for improving the skin, hair and firming the breasts.
Food and Drug Administration secretary-general Mongkhol Na Songkhla said the FDA did not object to the registration of products made from kwao kreu forwarded by Dr Wichai of Chulalongkorn University, but is still waiting for more research information to prove that it is scientifically safe.
Dr Wichai said that what is of utmost concern is that the herbs are not only being exported to Asian countries, but are also being shipped to Germany from China. He said state authorities should take immediate action in controlling the export of the Thai herb by adding it to the list of seven protective plants that are not allowed to be taken out of the country.
Institute of Traditional Thai Medicine director Pennapha Subcharoen however cautioned that Thailand may not be able to totally claim the plant as a Thai plant because it is also grown in neighboring countries like Burma and Laos.
She said instead of only promoting the commercial use of kwao kreu as a food supplement or cosmetic product, it should also be developed into medicines.
White kwaao khruea can be used to solve problems of osteoporosis among aging women and red kwaao khruea can replace the use of Viagra for men with erectile dysfunction problems, she said.
Source: Bangkok Post Newspaper
Plant experts are calling for a speed-up of the new Plant Variety Protection Bill to prevent piracy of kwaao khruea
The Thai herbs reported to be eyed by foreign investors due to its potential to become high-value medicinal products both in domestic and oversee markets.
Dr. Wichai Cherdshewasart, Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Science researcher, said he has heard that local markets of kwaao khruea (or Pueraria mirifica), are being cornered by foreign investors, particularly Japanese firms.
"Now at least one Japanese firm is planning to run a permanent project in Thailand. The project is believed to be in full cycle, from plant breeding to product manufacturing," said Dr Wichai.
Mrs.Pennapa Subcharoen, director of the National Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine, cited an unofficial report as saying the selling of kwaao khruea to foreigners is widespread in northern provinces such as Phrae, Nan, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Sakon Nakhon, and other border provinces. Some foreigners who have long settled in Thailand even open a small shop to purchase the plant from villagers. Such practices would soon result in extinction of the plant because villagers would think of nothing but money.
Now Japanese investors are waiting for state permission to import kwaao khruea to their countries, but what they want is only powdered kwaao khruea to be used as raw materials for their own products. These products might return for sale in Thailand at higher prices.
"If the bill is enforced, I believe more of our plants would be saved. But it's a matter for the bureaucratic system which is always too slow," said Dr. Pennapa.
A source from the Agriculture Department's Botany and Weed Science Division's plant protection office revealed that some Japanese, German and American firms are now conducting research on Pueraria mirifica in Thailand. If they are successful in breeding the plant and registering it as their own invented species, it would be a great disadvantage to Thailand.
He admitted so far there has been neither an official survey by state agencies on the exact amount of kwaao khruea nationwide, nor any plan to protect this type of plant.
According to the source, the most effective law is the new Plant Variety Protection Bill, which is now under consideration by the Council of State.
The bill was proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, after being drafted by a group of academics, biodiversity advocates and the Forum of the Poor. It is aimed at protecting both plant species existing in nature and newly-modified varieties, and addressing ways to protect and conserve the country's biodiversity resources which are at risk from piracy.
The protection of newly-bred species would be an incentive for breeders to create commercial plant varieties. According to the new bill, local communities which preserve the species should share the benefit with breeders who make use of local plant varieties.
However, there was concern that protection of kwaao khruea would be too late if the authorities waited for the new bill because it is expected to take some time before enforcement.
The department source said the best way to protect the plant now is to issue a ministry regulation declaring kwaao khruea a preserved plant to bar it from being exported, but more study and discussion is needed before the ministry makes a decision.
Researchers who are successful in inventing their own formula for the plant products could protect their rights by registering the formula under the copyrights law.
Dr Wichai said he is now selecting a private firm for a joint venture in a full-cycle project starting from growing the plant and making medicinal products.
The chosen company must follow four criteria - production must be based on academic data, the project must be in full cycle, the company must have potential to compete in international markets, and the products must be sold at reasonable prices for Thai people.
Source : BangkokPost Newspaper
Pueraria Mirifica
Medical reports on the effectiveness of phytoestrogens
February 4, 2000 -- As reported on NEWS NET 5: Cleveland, Ohio, March 12, 1999 - There's new information that suggests an herbal plant will enhance your breast. News Channel 5 reports new finding show if women take an herb called pueraria mirifica, it will increase their breast size.
"The root is presumed to contain substances that might have an effect on glands," say medicinal plant expert Varro Tyler, Ph.D. The herb is so popular that demand is outweighing supply."
Hormonal Imbalance
January 24, 2000 -- As reported on "Ask Dr. Sandra Cabot, M.D. the Doctor who understands" (see http://www.whas.com/): As a woman passes through the various phases of her life she may suffer with hormonal imbalances because the female endocrine system is very finely balanced and is always changing. Young woman in the post puberty years are prone to large hormonal swings which may lead to menstrual irregularity, painful heavy periods, acne and premenstrual syndrome. In the late teens and the twenties and thirties the hormonal imbalance of endometriosis is common and very debilitating. Hormonal imbalances such as excessive male hormones (androgens) combined with a lack of regular progesterone production may lead to changes in appearance such as acne, greasy skin, scalp hair loss, excessive facial hair and weight excess. All of these hormonal imbalances can be reduced by eating a diet high in plant hormones.
HealthNews from the publishers of the New England Journal of Medicine
December 27, 1999 -- As reported on "OnHealth" - The Pueraria Mirifica herb Question : (HealthNews from the publishers of the New England Journal of Medicine.) November 14, 1997: Compared with women in the United States, women in Asia are far less likely to develop cancer of the breast or uterus. Many researchers believe that the differences in diet are one possible explanation. And on key component may be Pueraria Mirifica herb - plant compounds that have beneficial, hormone - like effects in the body.
